S.W.A.T. Pilot Casts Criminal Minds Star & More

In an era of sequels and reboots it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that CBS is developing a pilot based on the 2003 movieS.W.A.T. — itself a cinematic reboot of the ’70s TV show of the same name. The movie starred Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell and Michelle Rodriguez, none of whom are currently slated to return to the project on television.

The latest S.W.A.T. the television show will star the same characters as the 2003 feature film, including Daniel ‘Hondo’ Harrelson. Harrelson was played by Samuel L. Jackson and will be the star of the new series. S.W.A.T. is set in Los Angeles.

Criminal Minds star Shemar Moore has been signed to play Hondo. The character is a locally born S.W.A.T. lieutenant caught between his loyalty to his neighborhood and his dedication to his team and teammates. He is a character who has been portrayed in the past as both calm and poised for action. Moore will be joined by Lina Esco (Kingdom), and Bates Motelregular Kenny Johnson. Esco will play Michelle Rodriguez’s role, Chris Sanchez. Johnson is playing a new character named Luca, the team’s expert driver.

Moore starred on Criminal Minds for 11 years on CBS and his addition to S.W.A.T. strengthens their working relationship. The show will be executive produced by The Shield director Shawn Ryan, Neal H. Moritz, Justin Lin (Star Trek Beyond), and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas. Ryan worked with Kenny Johnson in the past when Johnson played Detective Curtis Lemansky for four years on The Shield.Justin Lin will direct the pilot episode.

CBS has definitely had success putting strong leading men in procedural dramas for years, and Shemar Moore has more than proved himself capable to handle a crime drama. Kenny Johnson is good in everything and it will be interesting to see if he is playing a similar character to Lemansky. For her part, Lina Esco appeared on Heroes: Destiny, which means she can handle the physical demands that S.W.A.T. will have of her character in particular. CBS should also be commended for having a pretty diverse cast so far.

All of these actors have significant experience in television and even well within either the police or procedural realm, which makes them all good choices, if not terribly exciting ones. The S.W.A.T. movie was met with mixed receptions, so there is a lot of pressure on this pilot to define itself as something really special.